Frequent Chocolate Consumption Linked to Lower BMI

Frequent chocolate consumption is associated with lower body mass index (BMI), even when adjusting for calorie intake, saturated fat intake, and mood, claims a new study.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD; USA) surveyed 1,018 patients participating in clinical study of statin medications to find out how many times a week they consumed chocolate. BMI was calculated for 972 of the participants (95.6%), while 975 (95.8%) answered the validated Fred Hutchinson Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). The amount and frequency of chocolate consumed was examined, as were activity and mood (using the Epidemiological Studies Depression scale [CES-D]). The relationship between chocolate consumption frequency and BMI was then calculated in unadjusted models and in models adjusted for age, sex, activity, saturated fats, and mood.

The results showed that the frequency of chocolate consumption was associated with greater intake of calories and saturated fats and higher CES-D scores, all positively related to BMI. Chocolate consumption frequency was not associated with greater activity, but it was associated with lower BMI. This association remained with and without adjustment for age and sex, as well as for calories, saturated fats, and depression. But although chocolate consumption frequency was associated with lower BMI, the amount of chocolate consumed was not. The study was published as a research letter in the March 26, 2012, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

“The connection of higher chocolate consumption frequency to lower BMI is opposite to associations presumed based on calories alone, but concordant with a growing body of literature suggesting that the character, as well as the quantity, of calories has an impact on metabolic syndrome factors,” concluded lead author associate professor Beatrice Golomb, MD, PhD, and colleagues of the department of medicine.

Cocoa or dark chocolate are known to positively affect the circulatory system, as well as having anticancer, brain stimulation, cough prevention, and antidiarrhoeal activities. This is mainly due to a particular substance present in cocoa called epicatechin, which possesses a significant antioxidant action. Chocolate phenols have also been shown to protect arteries from plaque formation and to prevent LDL oxidation for two hours after consumption. On the other hand, consuming milk chocolate, white chocolate, or drinking fat-containing milk with dark chocolate, appears to largely negate these health benefits.

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